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Chatoyance
Chatoyance, real-life name Jennifer Diane Reitz, is an author and artist who is credited for having codified much of the lore of The Conversion Bureau ''genre, possibly even more so than Blaze himself. She's written multiple novels and short stories taking place in her version of the TCB genre, known collectively as the Chatoyanceverse. Portrayal In the original story, the exact nature of the barrier was left vague, other than it extends from Equestria, would "purify" the world, is harmful to humans, and humanity is already slowly dying off. In Chatoyance's stories, the earth past the point of terminality, with the planet already over-exploited, ruined, and dying, and only three generations are left to humanity. Because of a promise she made to a man in the England of the 1300's, Celestia reluctantly offers escape to Equestria as a lifeboat to save mankind. Escape from the doomed earth has a price: transformation into Equestrian form - the alien physics of her Equestria are deadly to all forms of terrestrial life. Humans are allowed to choose whether to emigrate to Equestria, but the choice is difficult since the alternative is a slow and certain death. Transformation is permanent, and while the converted former humans are expected to integrate into the native Equestrian culture, many programs exist in Chatoyance's stories to preserve the best of human culture and civilization within Equestria. These programs are run almost entirely by Celestia's sister, Luna, who also secretly preserves works that are forbidden or otherwise disapproved of by Celestia. History Chatoyance is a transwoman and currently lives in Oregon with her three spouses. She originally studied biochemistry, later pursuing a career as an artist. She also worked in the video game industry as an illustrator and level designer for fourteen years before retiring. Before getting into fanfiction, she created her own graphic novels and web comics, such as "Unicorn Jelly." She also has at least two original novels under her belt, one being the science-fiction paperback novel ''The Ishtar Crisis. However, she later left, feeling that the world of physical publishing was too hard to be successful in. Chatoyance was first introduced to The Conversion Bureau after accidentally stumbling upon one of its spin-offs on Equestria Daily. Though she recognized that the story had lot of problems, she also saw a lot of promise in the universe it described. Her first story for the Conversion Bureau was "[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1123/the-conversion-bureau-the-big-respawn The Big Respawn]." Reception While Chatoyance's particular version of TCB has become popular in its own right, its more radical approach to the premise has also attracted an equally large opposition; just mentioning her name in certain places is enough to start a flame war. Additionally, the effect of her work had on the community basically overshadowed the original story, in that elements from her stories became many of the conventions used in future TCB stories, with many authors referencing or taking inspiration from her work. Chatoyance herself is also a controversial figure. When the TCB genre was at its peak from 2011 to 2013, she was one of the most prominent targets among detractors of the genre due to her body of work and their contents, having received threats to her own life and family by more zealous members of the anti-TCB community. Once the peak controversy cooled down, however, and both sides agreed to a truce, Chatoyance herself seems to have become inactive. Outside of the Conversion Bureau and MLP fandom as a whole, Chatoyance is known for the creation of online graphic novels, the creation of the original HappyPuppy.com – once the most visited games site on the internet - and for the creation of websites providing information and help to transgender people (the latter of which have been controversial in their own way). She also had an fourteen-year career in the games industry, working for companies such as Activision, Electronic Arts, Broderbund, and Epyx.